Friday, July 26, 1963
Summer Session Kansan
Page 3
Faults in People, Society Lead to Birth Defects
By Delos Smith
NEW YORK — (UPI) — A distinguished medical specialist found faults in people today because there are a number of practical ways of preventing the birth of defective human beings, but none of them is being widely used. Laws and customs block their application.
ONCE A genetically incompatible could become a parent of a defective child, birth control would seem to be in order but most often it isn't, he added. He was incensed because contraception was "conspicuously omitted from the recent report of the president's panel on mental retardation."
The most direct way is to prevent defectives from being conceived, said Dr. Allan C. Barnes. But by custom, romance must have a marital culmination. Couples who are demonstrably incompatible genetically and couples related by blood get married nevertheless.
Other practical ways are sterilization and abortion. But laws prevent sterilization of mental defectives. By law a person must give consent to being sterilized and mental defectives are held to be incompetent to give such consent.
"The very people who genetically deserve it most are the ones least able to achieve surgical sterilization," Dr. Barnes continued.
AS FOR abortion, the laws are such that even when it can be shown the unborn is a "monster" and has no chance whatever of being born normal, a physician cannot legally terminate the pregnancy. If it is a late pregnancy, he is liable to a charge of manslaughter.
"Until the laws of this country genuinely recognize the right to be well born, we shall continue to waste reproductive time for the mother and condemn the damaged child to hopeless institutional care." Dr. Barnes said.
He is professor and chairman of the department of gynecology and
BARNES was addressing an international conference on congenital malformations sponsored by the national foundation. He relied on his own experiences which go back over several decades. Hundreds of engaged couples have had him test their blood for compatibility. He asked all of them if a negative test result would cancel their marriage plans. Without exception the answers were "a horrified no."
obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins University, gynecologist-obstetrician-in-chief at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, and editor of the American Journal of Obstetrics and gynecology.
"The information was desired so that it could be a basis for worry, not a basis for action," he said.
Only once has he been consulted by a pair of romancers related by blood. They had met at a family picnic which, he said, "is an excellent place to carry out medical genetic studies but a poor place to pick a spouse." Before he could complete his testing, the couple publically announced their engagement.
Tight Shoes in a Pinch
As long as present laws, attitudes and customs are controlling prevention of congenital defects "will continue to appear almost hopeless what is so ably being demonstrated in the laboratory will have difficulty finding application to the problems of the human race," he said.
BALTIMORE—(UPI)—A 16-year-old boy returned a pair of shoes to a store here in an attempt to exchange them because they were too large and was sent to iail.
James Jordan stole the shoes during a burglary at the same store in April, according to testimony at his trial in youth court. He was sentenced to not more than one year in the Maryland Institute for Males.
Graft Charges
NEW DELHI —(UP)— A rising tide of public opinion is calling on Prime Minister Nehru to take action on charges of graft and bribery in high places.
Nehru Feels Heat
The charges began to grow last April, when police seized the books of a manganese export firm in Calcutta. Entries revealed that large payments had been made to a number of high government officials.
NEHRU TURNED the case over to a supreme court judge for a secret inquiry. The results of the probe have not been released, and may not even be revealed completely when parliament meets next August.
But rumors of what the judge might have found have already led to the resignation of Oil and Mines Minister Keshav Dev Malaviya. Five senior civil servants have been suspended from their jobs.
Malaviya's resignation scarcely had been announced when police made a vigorous search of a century-old British firm in Calcutta, which deals in jute, coal, paper and engineering goods. The firm was suspected of secretly piling up profits overseas by evading government currency regulations.
CALCUTTA newspapers since
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have claimed that the company's books showed payments of at least one minister of the national government, and a minister of the Bengal state government. The report has not been challenged by the police.
Internal squabbles in the state of Kerala have, meanwhile, led to charges and countercharges among members of the ruling Congress Party.
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State party boss C. K. Govindan Nair said that he had asked Nehru to personally investigate charges that one minister had traded favors for gifts from private businessmen. The minister was alleged to have done favors for a firm which gave a costly diamond necklace to his wife.
1340 Ohio
When You're In Doubt, Try It Out—Kansan Classified
VI 3-9832
GRAVITT'S FAST LAUNDRY SERVICE
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Bring your laundry in during the week for extra fast and efficient service.
913 N.H.
VI 3-6844
SUMMER WORSHIP First Presbyterian Church
9th and Vermont
First service — 9:00 a.m.
Sunday school — 9:45 a.m.
Second service — 11:00 a.m.
informal dress encouraged Visitors welcome
REV. HAROLD M. MALLETT, DD, Minister
HAVING A PARTY?
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Ice cold beverages Chips, nuts, cookies Variety of grocery items Crushed ice, candy Ice cold 6 pacs — all kinds
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LAWRENCE ICE COMPANY
616 Vt. Ph. VI 3-0350
SELL YOUR USED BOOKS
Thursday and Friday, August 1 & 2
When you finish your exams, sell those used books you no longer need that have been readopted for next semester.
We will buy those titles
the University has advised us will be used again during Fall Semester, 1963.
An off-campus buyer will be here August 1 & 2 to make you an offer on those titles no longer used at KU.
KANSAS UNION BOOK STORE